Men's Basketball Travels to Youngstown State Wednesday
11/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio The Kent State University mens basketball team looks to string back-to-back victories together for the first time this season when the Golden Flashes travel to Youngstown, Ohio, to face Youngstown State University, Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m. The game is the Golden Flashes first road contest of the season. The Penguins are looking to get back on track after a loss at Akron Saturday.
QUICK FLASHES
Kent State finished the South Padre Island Invitational with a 2-2 record... Senior wing Jay Youngblood earned all-tournament team honors for his performance.
Wednesdays game is the 100th in the coaching career of Jim Christian and in the playing career of senior guard DeAndre Haynes.
The last time out Kent State raced past Texas-Pan American, using a second half run fueled by a career-high 15 points from Mike Scott and a season-high 26 points by Jay Youngblood.
Kent State scored 49 points in the second half against Texas-Pan American, the most points in a half for KSU since a similar 49 in the second half against Ohio (3/5/05) in last seasons regular season finale at the M.A.C. Center.
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Youngstown State is 1-2 on the year, most recently losing at Akron 67-62 Saturday. Quin Humphrey led three Penguins in double figures with 15 points and also added 10 rebounds for a double-double... Domonique Crawford tossed in 11 points, hitting 3-of-5 three pointers.
Keston Roberts leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per contest... Humphrey averages 14.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game and is shooting .500 from three-point range... John Barber averages 9.0 points and a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game... Derrick Harris is contributing 8.3 assists an outing.
The Penguins lone win on the year was a 95-53 victory against Slippery Rock (Nov. 23)... Youngstown State lost its season opener at St. Francis (Pa.) 71-58 (Nov. 19).
The Golden Flashes lead the all-time series with Youngstown State 21-15... The teams have not met in four years, with the last meeting a 75-70 Youngstown State victory (12/15/01) that snapped a four-game win streak by the Flashes in the series... Kent State has won six of the last eight meetings between the teams, however the Penguins have triumphed in the last three contests in Youngstown.
Youngstown State is coached by Jerry Slocum (Kings [N.Y.] 75), who is 581-327 in his 31st year as a collegiate coach. He is in his first year with the Penguins.
All-Time Against the Horizon League
Kent State owns a 50-39 all-time record against teams currently competing in the Horizon League... The Golden Flashes have played six of the nine current conference members.
KSU has played Cleveland State more than any other Horizon opponent, holding a 23-18 record... Kent State plays the Vikings Saturday.
Kent States most recent win over a Horizon League member was last seasons 71-68 victory at Cleveland State (12/12/05).
THE LAST TIME OUT
Kent State evened its record at 2-2 with an 82-70 victory against Texas-Pan American in the Golden Flashes final game in the South Padre Island Invitational. Senior Jay Youngblood paced the Golden Flashes with a season-high 26 points, including 11 points in a crucial 20-9 run in the second half that pushed Kent State to victory.
The Golden Flashes led 53-51 with 11:16 remaining when Youngblood began the run with a jumper from the right wing. Freshman point guard Jordan Mincy capped the run with a fast break layup off a steal with 3:36 left in the game. The Golden Flashes also received contributions in the run from sophomore Mike Scott, who scored a career-high 15 points in the contest.
Scott, who provided a spark for Kent State in the first half, finished 4-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-3 from three-point range. Senior Kevin Warzynski finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Youngblood matched him with seven rebounds. Freshman Isaac Knight had eight points and six rebounds in just 14 minutes played.
The Golden Flashes pressure defense forced Texas-Pan American (2-3) into 22 turnovers and Kent State registered 14 steals, the most since posting 15 against Notre Dame (Ohio) College last season. KSU converted the UTPA turnovers into 31 points.
Kent State shot .567 (17-of-30) in the second half, while the Flashes limited the Broncos to 31 percent, outscoring UTPA 49-35 in the period.
Notes From Texas-Pan American
Jay Youngblood missed his career high by three points, having scored 29 in the NIT first round at Western Kentucky last year... It was Youngbloods second 20-point game in four contests this season... He finished 11-of-18 (.611) from the field.
The Golden Flashes out-rebounded UTPA 37-32, including 18-8 on the offensive glass.
Isaac Knight grabbed four offensive rebounds... Jordan Mincy and DeAndre Haynes each had four steals.
Kent State had three players in double figures for the second time this season.
Mike Scotts previous career high was nine points, matched the day before against Rutgers... He had nine by halftime today.
Youngblood Earns All-Tournament Team Honors
Senior wing Jay Youngblood earned South Padre Island Invitational All-Tournament Team honors with his performance over the four games... He averaged 16.0 points and 4.3 rebounds, shooting .556 (25-of-45) from the field.
Youngblood scored 20 points in two of the four games of the tournament... Going back to last season, he has tallied 20 points in three of the last five games.
It is the second time in Youngbloods career he has earned all-tournament honors; last season he was named to the Pepsi Blue and Gold Classic all-tournament team at Marquette.
Scott Drops Career High
Against Texas-Pan American sophomore forward Mike Scott set a career high with 15 points, hitting 4-of-6 field goals, including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range... Scott accounted for half the teams total of six three-point field goals in the two games played in South Padre Island, Texas.
Scott provided a spark in the opening half against the Broncos, scoring nine points... In the previous game against Rutgers, Scott came off the bench in the second half to score seven points and spur KSUs comeback bid.
Mile Marker 100
Head coach Jim Christian will coach his 100th career game from the Kent State bench Wednesday at Youngstown State, while senior guard DeAndre Haynes will play in his 100th career game... If Haynes starts Wednesday, he will move into the all-time top 10 for games started at Kent State with 89.
Christian becomes the 10th Kent State mentor with 100 career games on the Golden Flashes bench... He will outdistance all other Kent State coaches in terms of wins in 100 games... Christian enters Wednesday with a 66-33 (.667) career mark... Only Dave McDowell had more than 60 victories (62) in his first 100 games as the KSU coach, however McDowell accumulated his total over two seperate stints as the Flashes coach.
HAYNES Moves Into Third
With his five assists against Rutgers and four steals against Texas-Pan American, senior guard DeAndre Haynes has moved into third place in Kent State history in both assists and steals... He now has 506 career assists the fourth Golden Flash to crack the 500-assist plateau and 179 career steals.
Three previous Golden Flashes have more than 500 career assists; Ed Norvell 594, Trevor Huffman 520, Anthony Grier 502.
Knight Doubles His Pleasure
In just his second career game, redshirt freshman forward Isaac Knight posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Austin Peay.
The double-double is the second-fastest in terms of games played in a Kent State uniform in school history... The only faster double-double was by Antonio Gates, who scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his first game as a Golden Flash.
WINNINGEST KENT STATE SEASONS
Kent State boasts 10 seasons of 20 wins or more in its history, including each of the last seven in a row.
During Kent States streak of seven-straight 20-win seasons, the closest similar run in the MAC is Western Michigans current streak of three 20-win seasons in a row.
Message Delivered and Answered
After a lackluster performance in the season opener, head coach Jim Christian shuffled his starting lineup in game two and the team responded with a resounding 94-67 victory against Austin Peay.
The Kent State bench from game one, which was held scoreless, produced 33 points as starters in game two.
The seniors combined for 45 points in the second contest in a combined 78 minutes played.
The new faces on the Kent State roster also combined for 78 minutes played in the game.
After being out-rebounded by nine in game one, the Flashes attacked the boards against Austin Peay, out-rebounding the Governors 44-24.
HOT SHOOTING
Kent State blistered Austin Peay from beyond the arc, connecting on 10-of-19 (.526) three-point attempts, the highest single-game percentage for Kent State since the Flashes hit 60.0 percent (9-of-15) against Miami last season.
The Golden Flashes also produced at the free throw line, knocking down 20-of-24 (.833) attempts.
Speaking of hot shooting, junior guard Omni Smith had a perfect shooting night, going 2-of-2 from the field (1-for-1 from three) and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe for nine points.
EXPERIENCED SENIOR CLASS
Kent State returns a very experienced class of four seniors this season in Kevin Warzynski, Jay Youngblood, DeAndre Haynes and Nate Gerwig. The quartet has combined to play 269 career games, more than the senior class of any other MAC team except Buffalo.
In fact, the duo of Gerwig (94) and Haynes (99) has played 193 career games, which alone is more than eight other MAC teams senior class.
KENT STATE WITH ELITE COMPANY
Kent State is one of just 12 NCAA Division I mens basketball teams with 20 wins each of the last seven years.
The teams that make up the list have combined for 18 national championships and 61 appearances in the Final Four.
The Golden Flashes have accomplished this feat by playing just 25 non-conference home games during the stretch, an average of less than four per season. By comparison, Syracuse has played 63 non-conference home games in that stretch, an average of nine per year.
Big M.A.C.C. Attack
Kent State has made the M.A.C. Center a tough place to play since the start of the 1997-98 season. The Golden Flashes have posted a 93-18 (.836) record at home during the last seven seasons.
70s The Thing
Scoring 70 points in a contest has been a magical number for Kent State under fourth-year head coach Jim Christian. The Golden Flashes are 51-10 (.850) when scoring 70 points or more in a game under Christian.
What Kent State Returns in 2005-06
The Golden Flashes welcome back to the roster this season each of the following:
3-of-5 starters
59.4% of last years total starts (98-of-165)
59.9% of minutes played (3,982-of-6,650)
62.1% of points scored (1,443-of-2,322)
60.6% of field goals made (504-of-832)
60.8% of field goals attempted (1,138-of-1,871)
57.0% of 3-point field goals (135-of-237)
59.2% of 3-point field goal attempts (399-of-674)
52.4% of offensive rebounds (205-of-391)
60.8% of defensive rebounds (436-of-717)
57.9% of total rebounds (641-of-1,108)
60.3% of assists (304-of-504)
59.6% of blocked shots (34-of-57)
62.2% of steals (173-of-278)
Beefed Up MAC East
With the loss of Marshall to Conference USA and re-addition of Bowling Green to the MAC East, all six of this years MAC East Division teams played in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals last year and three of the four teams in the MAC Tournament semifinals were from the East Division.
Last years conference records for the MAC East Division teams: Miami (12-6), Akron (11-7), Buffalo (11-7), Kent State (11-7), Ohio (11-7), Bowling Green (10-8).
KENNEDY ON NCAA SELECTION COMMITTEE
Kent State Director of Athletics Laing Kennedy was selected to the prestigious NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Committee. Kennedys five-year appointment was effective Sept. 1, 2005. Kennedy becomes just the second representative from the MAC all-time on the committee. Former Miami University AD Richard Shrider served on the committee from 1981-1987. The NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Committee oversees the administration of the mens basketball championship, including the selection of teams to the championship and staffing tournament sites.
COMING UP NEXT
The Golden Flashes play host to Cleveland State, Saturday, Dec. 3, at the M.A.C. Center at 7 p.m.
The game is part of a doubleheader as the KSU womens team hosts Montana State at 2 p.m.
